Brandin Cooks have had more than 1,000 yards receiving in each of the past three seasons. He spent last season with the Patriots, and the previous three with the Saints. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The texts began arriving almost immediately after the Rams created another major splash Tuesday. This time, they pulled off a stunning trade for Brandin Cooks, a dynamic 24-year-old wide receiver coming off three straight seasons of more than 1,000 yards receiving and at least seven touchdowns.

To put those numbers in perspective, only one other player has duplicated that production over the same time span. That would be Steelers All-Pro Antonio Brown, arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL.

It was quite the coup for the Rams, who essentially replace Sammy Watkins, who left via free agency, with Cooks, a statistically superior player. And it keeps the momentum going on what can only be described as a monumental offseason for the defending NFC West champions, who previously added All-Pro cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aquib Talib and monster defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to their young, talented roster.

Around the league, people are noticing. Which brings us back to the texts that began arriving immediately after word surfaced Cooks was on his way to the Rams from the Patriots.

The gist being, the Rams aren’t just operating like a franchise situated in the second-biggest market in the country, they are shrewdly and impressively creating a spotlight for themselves in the crowded Los Angeles sports market by making moves that create an instant buzz, but also make perfect sense on the football field.

Or, as one NFL executive texted: “Gotta admire them. They know what it takes to get attention in L.A.”

True, true.

And here is the key: While the Rams understand the importance of buzz and splash and entertainment value – now more than ever as they go about creating their niche alongside the Lakers and Dodgers and all their other L.A. neighbors while also selling season seats and Stadium Seat Licenses for their new stadium in Inglewood, which opens in 2020 – they also know it can’t be about gratuitously adding “big” names to create headlines and draw attention to themselves to manufacture superficial interest.

Only to sabotage the future by pushing their salary cap to the limit, or dipping too far into their draft collateral to add name players simply for the sake of generating interest.

If you’ve ever taken a big bite of cotton candy you understand. Sure it tastes great at first bite. But almost as soon as it touches your tongue it dissolves into nothingness. All you’re left with is a fleeting moment of satisfaction and, worse, a belly ache.

There are no shortcuts to L.A.’s heart. The Rams, thankfully, understand that.

Nor are they haphazardly getting sucked into win right now mode, a pitfall that’s resulted in the early demise of many a contender over the years.

Yes, they believe their window is wide open after last year’s breakthrough 11-5 season and the mighty step forward taken by quarterback Jared Goff and the presence of dynamic head coach Sean McVay. And they are doing everything they can to maximize it.

But the plan is to keep that window open a good long time.

So while creating a buzz is a dynamic that can’t be overlooked in the Rams moves this offseason, their actions prove they are more focused on building a sustainable, winning team for which the buzz is permanent rather than transitory.

Cooks is 24, or roughly the same age as Alabama’s Calvin Ridley, the top wide receiver in the upcoming NFL draft.

Peters is just 25.

The Rams expect both to be part of their long-range future along with 26-and-under foundation pieces Aaron Donald, Todd Gurley and Goff.

And while the price to acquire them was steep – this year’s first-round pick for Cooks and their 2019 second-round pick for Peters – they still have 18 picks total between this year and next year after adding to their arsenal by trading veterans Alec Ogletree and Robert Quinn and letting Trumaine Johnson and Watkins walk as free agents.

Oh by the way, the departures of Ogletree, Quinn, Johnson and Watkins also frees up money to pay Donald, Gurley, Goff, Cooks and Peters. The Rams have the most salary cap space in the entire NFL the next two years, so while re-signing all their young stars is a concern, they are set up perfectly to do just that.

They are better today than they were to end last season, and they’ve craftily positioned themselves to retain their young core for years to come.

These aren’t the actions of a team merely trying to create interest in a new market or sell SSL’s or win right now. It’s a team that understands the talented young player and coaching core in place and the importance of intelligently building around it for the present and the future.

As such, this feels much more like a progression rather than a mandate.

There is a huge difference.

The Rams know how to get L.A.’s attention, indeed.

More importantly, they understand it’s not just about getting our attention, it’s holding it.

Vincent Bonsignore is an NFL columnist for the Southern California News Group. Having covered the Los Angeles sports scene for more than two decades, Bonsignore has emerged as one of the leading voices on the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, the NFL and NFL relocation.

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